Illinois Pharmacist Professional Licensing Guide

1. HOW THE PROFESSION IS ORGANIZED IN ILLINOIS

REGULATION OF PHARMACISTS IN ILLINOIS

The Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR) regulates the profession of Registered Pharmacist in Illinois. The IDFPR reviews the credentials of foreign pharmacy graduates directly. It also contracts with a private company, Continental Testing Service (CTS) to process applications for Licensure by Examination for pharmacist candidates.

The National Association of Boards of Pharmacy (NABP), which is headquartered in Illinois, administers all tests related to licensing eligibility for foreign pharmacy graduates:

NAPLEX – North American Pharmacist Licensure Exam – skills and knowledge of pharmacy

MPJE – Multistate Pharmacy Jurisprudence Exam (MPJE) – pharmacy law

EMPLOYMENT

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, more than 60% of pharmacists work in independent or chain retail drugstores, and hospitals employ another 23%. Outside of a clinical pharmacy setting, pharmacists in the United States also find work with pharmaceutical companies in research or sales roles; in insurance companies working with medical benefit packages; or with government agencies working in health policy and services.

Demand for pharmacists is high, as in many healthcare professions. An aging population, new drug treatments and insurance coverage of prescriptions all help fuel this 25% growth from 2010-2020. The average salary nationally was $111,50 in 2010.

Communication skills and knowledge of medical information systems are important factors in career success for pharmacists. Their responsibilities in advising both doctors and patients continue to grow with the development of new medicines, disease management methods, and opportunities to monitor patient treatment plans to prevent potential harmful drug interactions.

INCREASING PROFESSIONAL STANDARDS AND INELIGIBLE PHARMACY PROGRAMS

Reform in pharmacy education in the US now means that new pharmacy graduates will only qualify for licensing if they hold a 5-year professional degree – a PharmD or its equivalent. This change went into effect for all students graduating after January 1, 2003.

While 5 years is now the standard for US professional degrees in pharmacy, it is not the case worldwide. Unfortunately, foreign-educated pharmacy candidates who graduated from a 4-year program after the change date cannot qualify for the Foreign Pharmacy Graduate Equivalency Certification process with their current degree. Not even internships or extra coursework after graduation can count towards the 5-year minimum.

Currently, there are only two ways for you to become eligible if you are in this situation:

You can use your foreign degree as a basis for transfer credit to a US or other 5-year pharmacy program and graduate from the new institution with a 5-year professional degree (some pharmacy schools even offer special advanced standing programs for foreign pharmacy graduates)

If you completed pre-pharmacy coursework before entering your 4-year program, you may be able to gather this documentation and have it count towards the 5 year total

Another trend in professional standards applies to pharmacy technicians. Previously, this entry-level pharmacy position required registration in Illinois but did not require an examination. Beginning in 2008, new hires must pass a certification exam within 2 years registration (see the Other Careers and Credentials section for more information).

2. ELIGIBILITY FOR LICENSING

The process for obtaining a license as a pharmacist in Illinois is as follows:

The purpose of the Foreign Pharmacy Graduate Examination Committee (FPGEC) Certification Program is to document the educational equivalency of your foreign pharmacy education. This certification is a four-step process. The following information outlines the process and you can connect to more program information under Important Links:

Application package for the FPGEC Certification Program and the Foreign Pharmacy Graduate Equivalency Examination (FPGEE). The application can be downloaded from the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy (NABP) website. It requires several supporting documents, including proof of a foreign pharmacist license or an accepted substitute. Fee: $800 – document evaluation ($200) and payment of test ($600)

Credential Evaluation Application. Educational Credential Evaluators, Inc. is the only credentialing organization accepted by the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy (NABP). You must submit your official transcripts and proof of degree, plus translations submitted according to the instructions found in the application package. This step often takes a year or more. Fee: $85

Your Certification Program file will close after two years unless you go through an extension process with the Foreign Pharmacy Graduate Examination Committee

Some foreign pharmacy graduates are able to pass the FPGEE even before they can pass the TOEFL. If your oral English is not as strong as your written English, consider taking the TOEFL before applying for the Certification Program so you do not have to extend your Certification Program timeline because of language study

If you sit for the Foreign Pharmacy Graduate Equivalency Examination (FPGEE) and fail, you will have to resend your application and pay $600 to retake the exam

Completing your foreign credential evaluation does not occur early in the Certification program. If you are a pharmacy graduate from 2003 or later and think your pharmacy degree may not be equivalent to a first professional degree (a 5-year PharmD), you are participating in this process at your own risk. Candidates like you have spent a lot of time and money – even passed the certification program exam! – before learning they are disqualified based on the credential evaluation. Get advice early from FPGEC or a PharmD program to understand if your degree is likely to qualify

II. SUBMIT LICENSURE BY EXAMINATION APPLICATION AND COMPLETE AN APPROVED CLINICAL TRAINING PROGRAM

Application

After you earn your Certification it is time to apply for Licensure by Examination to the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR). Your examination process will not start at this time, but the application is your first point of contact with the State and leads to your next immediate step: the 1,200 hour clinical training program required of all foreign pharmacy graduates.

Some of the items in your application to IDFPR will include:

4- page Application for Licensure by Examination (note: this application opens your file at IDFPR, but you won’t be considered eligible for the exams in Step 4 until your internship is completed and accepted by IDFPR)

Foreign Pharmacy Graduate Examination Committee (FPGEC) Certification

Credential evaluation from Educational Credential Evaluators, Inc.

Official transcripts issued by school of pharmacy with school seal affixed and certified translations

Fee: $75

CLINICAL TRAINING PROGRAM

IDFPR will send you guidelines for the 1,200-hour clinical training program. Program participants are commonly called “pharmacy interns,” although there is no special intern status or license in Illinois. In fact, you will have to arrange your own 1,200-hour internship in a hospital or retail pharmacy under the supervision of a pharmacist licensed in Illinois.

The supervising Pharmacist must write a letter to IDFPR confirming that clinical training will occur and outlining its proposed content. The State Board of Pharmacy, which meets every other month, will review this documentation and make a recommendation to the IDFPR director. You will need to receive IDFPR approval before you can begin earning hours towards your 1,200 goal.

This approval is for a specific internship under a specific pharmacist. Unfortunately, if your circumstances change and you abandon your program before completion, you will need to start all over again with a new, pre-approved, 1,200-hour clinical training program.

REGISTERING AS A PHARMACY TECHNICIAN

To work behind the counter in an Illinois pharmacy for your internship, you will first need to register as a pharmacy technician. This is a simple process which only costs $40 in 2012. In fact, many foreign pharmacy graduates work as pharmacy technicians even before beginning the licensing process. It allows you to earn a modest income while adapting to a US pharmacy environment. However, you only start to accumulate internship hours after IDFPR approves your clinical training program: none of your earlier experience as a pharmacy technician will count towards this goal. More information about registering as a Pharmacy Technician is in the section Other credentials in the field of pharmacy.

The North American Pharmacist Licensure Examination (NAPLEX) tests your skills and knowledge of pharmacy, while the Multistate Pharmacy Jurisprudence Exam (MPJE) tests your knowledge of laws that apply to the profession. All pharmacy graduates must pass these exams before being licensed in Illinois – whether they graduated from a US or a foreign program.

Once you complete your application and clinical training as described in Step 2, the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR) will send you a letter confirming that you are eligible to register for the NAPLEX and MPJE. You can take the exams in any order.

The registration process for both the NAPLEX and MPJE is similar in Illinois. It involves registering with two different organizations. The first is Continental Testing Services, which works with the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR) to manage Illinois candidate records. The second is Pearson Vue, a testing company which administers both exams for the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy. You must fill out applications on their web sites and pay fees to them separately. Pearson Vue will then send you an Authorization to Test (ATT) notice, which contains instructions on scheduling your exam. The ATT is valid for only 1 year.

North American Pharmacist Licensure Examination (NAPLEX) Fees:

Continental Testing Services – $91

Pearson Vue – $485

NAPLEX Results:

Scores will be send to the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR) and they will report them to you

Minimum passing score = 75

If you fail, you must wait at least 91 days to test again. If you fail 3 times, you will have to take remedial classes with IDFPR approval

Multistate Pharmacy Jurisprudence Exam (MPJE) Fees:

Continental Testing Services – $91

Pearson Vue – $200

MPJE Results:

Scores will be sent to the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR) and they will report them to you

Minimum passing score = 75

If you fail, you must wait at least 30 days to test again.

Both tests are discussed in greater detail in the next section Tests.

Once you have successfully passed both NAPLEX and MPJE, the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation will submit your file to the Illinois Board of Pharmacy for a licensing decision.

3. TESTS

As a foreign pharmacy graduate you will take three tests during your Illinois licensing process, all developed by the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy:

Foreign Pharmacy Graduate Equivalency Examination (FPGEE)

North American Pharmacist Licensure Examination (NAPLEX)

Multistate Pharmacy Jurisprudence Exam (MPJE)

GENERAL TEST PROCEDURES & BASIC CHARACTERISTICS:

Approval required before testing: testers will make an appointment to test once they are approved by National Association of Boards of Pharmacy (NABP) or by the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR) and receive an Authorization to Test (ATT) notice. The ATT includes detailed instructions for choosing a testing center and scheduling a date to sit for your exam. It is recommended that you schedule your exams soon after you receive your ATT.

Testing sites: the tests are administered by the testing company Pearson Vue in test centers nationwide. Limited space means that the centers can have full schedules – it is best to set up an appointment soon after you receive authorization.

Computer-based adaptive tests: the difficulty of the questions and their order will vary from one tester to another depending on the answers given.

No returning to finished questions: once you confirm your answer you will not be allowed to return to it or make any changes.

Testing day procedures: on the day of the test, you must bring the ATT and 2 types of approved identification. You will be fingerprinted and photographed before your test, and will be fingerprinted when you re-enter the testing area after breaks. You should arrive at least a half hour early; you will not be allowed to take the test if you arrive more than a half hour late for your appointment.

Rescheduling or not completing tests: each exam has strict policies for giving notice if you have to reschedule your exam. There are different costs involved in making changes. If you miss your appointment or abandon the test, you will be charged all fees and may have to do additional paperwork to re-qualify.

The test is only offered 2 times a year. This means that it is especially important to schedule your appointment as soon as you receive an Authorization to Test (ATT).

The FPGEE tests four content areas:

Basic Biomedical Sciences: 16% of questions

Pharmaceutical Sciences: 30%

Social, Behavioral, and Administrative Pharmacy Sciences: 22%

Clinical Sciences: 32%

The National Association of Boards of Pharmacy encourages candidates to take the FPGEE online practice exam for $50.

NORTH AMERICAN PHARMACIST LICENSURE EXAMINATION (NAPLEX)

The North American Pharmacist Licensure Examination (NAPLEX) consists of 185 multiple-choice questions and lasts 4 hours and 15 minutes.

NAPLEX tests three content areas:

Assess Pharmacotherapy to Ensure Safe and Effective Therapeutic Outcomes: about 56% of questions

Assess Safe and Accurate Preparation and Dispensing of Medications: about 33%

Assess, Recommend, and Provide Health Care Information that Promotes Public Health: about 11%

The National Association of Boards of Pharmacy encourages candidates to take the NAPLEX online practice, called the pre-NAPLEX, exam for $50. It contains questions that were used on older tests, and the computer program works under conditions similar to the real NAPLEX.

MULTISTATE PHARMACY JURISPRUDENCE EXAM (MPJE)

The Multistate Pharmacy Jurisprudence Exam tests your knowledge of both Federal laws and the laws of the state you plan to get licensed in. Therefore, there is a customized MPJE for each state and if you want to be licensed in more than one state, you will have to pass multiple versions of the MPJE.

4. TIME AND COSTS

Successfully licensing as a Registered Pharmacist in Illinois depends on a number of factors, including:

The completeness of your educational and professional records and a qualifying degree program

Your performance on several tests

Your ability to find an internship placement

Your free time and expendable income

We provide two hypothetical scenarios to show some of the variety of results that immigrant professionals may find when they seek to become pharmacists in Illinois. Please consider these scenarios as two examples out of many possibilities. Your experience will vary.

TWO HYPOTHETICAL SCENARIOS FOR PHARMACIST LICENSING:

Step

More Efficient ScenarioApproximate Time and Cost

Less Efficient ScenarioApproximate Time and Cost

1 FPGEC Certification Program

Your five-year foreign degree qualifies you immediately for the Foreign Pharmacy Graduate Examination Committee Certification Program. Your foreign credentials are well-organized and in English. You complete all program requirements, including degree evaluation and passage of the Foreign Pharmacy Graduate Equivalency Examination (FPGEE) in 1 1/2 years.

$1,200 + 1 1/2 years

Your five-year foreign degree qualifies you for the Foreign Pharmacy Graduate Examination Committee Certification Program, but problems with your documents and translations add time and expense. It takes you 2 1/2 years to finish the whole process.

It takes you 6 months to put together your application and organize your 1,200-hour clinical training program with approval from the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR). You finish your program in 1 year while working as a pharmacy technician in a retail pharmacy.

$75 + 1 1/2 years

It takes you a year to get your application in, find an internship, and have your training program approved. You finish your program in another year and a half by working as a pharmacy technician in a hospital pharmacy.

$75 + 2 1/2 years

3a NAPLEX

Your skills are fresh and you've been using a self-study program throughout your clinical training process, so you pass the North American Pharmacist Licensure Examination (NAPLEX) on the first try.

$600 + 6 months

Your skills are fresh and you've been using a self-study program throughout your clinical training process, so you pass the North American Pharmacist Licensure Examination (NAPLEX) on the first try.

$600 + 6 months

3b MPJE

You pass the Multistate Pharmacy Jurisprudence Exam (MPJE) on the first try. Your license is received 1 month after all results are received by IDFPR.

$275 + 4 months

You pass the Multistate Pharmacy Jurisprudence Exam (MPJE) on the first try. Your license is received 1 month after all results are received by IDFPR.

$275 + 4 months

More Efficient Total$2,150 and 4 years

Less Efficient Total$2,950 and 6 years

5. OTHER CAREERS AND CREDENTIALS

PHARMACY TECHNICIAN:

A pharmacy technician is an entry-level staff position in a hospital or retail pharmacy. It usually earns an hourly wage and only requires an education minimum of high school graduation. You will probably need to register as a pharmacy technician in Illinois to qualify for an internship and clinical program under the supervision of a licensed pharmacist. You must register as a Pharmacy Technician by sending in an application to the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR). The cost of the application is $40.

6. BEYOND LICENSING

MAINTAINING LICENSURE

Pharmacists must meet continuing education requirements of 30 hours every 2 years. The education must be given by a provider approved by the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education.

Licenses expire on March 31 of even-numbered years. The Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR) sends a notice reminding you to renew your license, so be certain to keep your contact information up-to-date with their office. If you let your license expire, you will have a much more complicated process to restore the license.

JOINING A PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATION

State and national associations for pharmacists provide opportunities for professional development and networking. They also help set acceptable working conditions for the profession and give information and opinions on policy in Illinois and across the US. Their websites may offer useful orientation to pharmacy candidates about the licensing and examination process, including test preparation. They often provide Continuing Education to members as well.

State:

Illinois Pharmacists Association

Illinois Council of Health-system Pharmacists

National:

American Pharmacists Association

American Society of Health-system Pharmacists

The Important Links section has more information on these associations. There is a large variety of specialized professional associations for pharmacists based on workplace, specialty, ethnicity, gender, or religion.

LICENSING MOBILITY (RECIPROCITY)

The state of Illinois does not have any reciprocal agreement to honor the pharmacy licenses of other states. It grants licenses to candidates either by examination (the process described in this topic) or endorsement (where a pharmacist already licensed in another state must independently meet all Illinois requirements for licensing).

8. TIPS

GET DEGREE EVALUATED

Make sure your foreign degree is likely to be accepted by the Foreign Pharmacy Graduate Equivalency Committee before you start its certification program. Your degree will not be evaluated immediately, so you may use valuable time and resources preparing for and even passing the program’s exam, only to learn later that your degree disqualifies you

CHECK TRANSFER CREDITS

If you graduate after 2003 from a four-year pharmacy program you will have to return to school in the US and complete requirements for a PharmD degree. Your foreign degree could count for a significant amount of transfer credits or for placement in a special advanced standing program. State your case with more than one pharmacy school and share your credential evaluation: it is possible that one school may grant more credits than another

REGISTER AS A PHARMACY TECHNICIAN

This is a good first step back into pharmacy and is necessary for participation in the 1,200-hour course of clinical instruction you need to license as a pharmacist. Remember that you will not be able to earn hours towards your clinical program until the State has approved the course.

SPEAK UP

Be your own advocate throughout the licensing process. Seek clarification about questions and concerns directly from official sources. If you feel your degree has been misinterpreted or you do not understand a fine point of the state regulations, organize your questions, contact Continental Testing Services (CTS), Pearson, or the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR), and ask for assistance